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Rest of the AFC West Takeaways: Week 6

By Prather Silverthorn

DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 01: Head coach Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders watches from the sidelines as his team plays the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 1, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 01: Head coach Jack Del Rio of the Oakland Raiders watches from the sidelines as his team plays the Denver Broncos at Sports Authority Field at Mile High on October 1, 2017 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Matthew Stockman/Getty Images) /
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DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 15: Quarterback Brock Osweiler
DENVER, CO – OCTOBER 15: Quarterback Brock Osweiler /

New York Giants 23, Denver Broncos 10

Broncos fall in trap game against the depleted New York Giants

The Denver Broncos had every reason to be favored against the New York Giants on Sunday Night. The Giants came into the game with a record of 0-5 and had lost their top 4 receivers to injury a week ago. Denver was also coming off of a bye week, giving them a chance to rest up and extra time to prepare. The thought that the Giants, with their lack of healthy receivers and inconsistent running game, could go on the road and beat one of the best defenses in the NFL seemed ridiculous. The Giants had other ideas.

The Broncos pass defense played about as well as expected. The talented Broncos cornerbacks were a complete mismatch against guys like Roger Lewis, Tavarres King, Travis Rudolph, and Ed Eagan. None of these guys would ever see game action if Odell Beckham Jr, Brandon Marshall, Sterling Shepard, and Dwayne Harris were healthy. These receivers combined for 2 receptions for 22 yards. Due to the lack of receiving options, Eli Manning only completed 11 of 19 passes for only 128 yards and a touchdown. Rookie tight end Evan Engram proved to be the only reliable pass catcher, hauling in 5 receptions for 82 yards and a touchdown. The Broncos defense was also able to sack Manning three times.

The run defense did not fare as well. The Giants gained a total of 148 yards on the ground. This was a surprising result, as the Broncos entered the game as one of the league’s best run defenses and the Giants entered as one of the worst rushing offenses. Running back Orleans Darkwa had 117 off of 21 carries, including a 47 yard run off of a perfectly executed trap block by the Giants offensive line.

Despite some struggles against the run, the Broncos defense played well. The same cannot be said about the offense. The Broncos had no success on the ground whatsoever. The team carried the ball 17 times for just 46 yards. This meant that Trevor Siemian had to throw the ball 50 times, not what you want a young quarterback to be doing. Siemian was able to complete 29 of his 50 passes for 376 yards and a touchdown, but also threw 2 interceptions. The first interception came off of a bad throw; the second came off of a terrible decision and was returned for a touchdown by star cornerback Janoris Jenkins.  The offensive line also struggled as Siemian was sacked 4 times. Wide receiver Demaryius Thomas had a nice game with 10 receptions for 133 yards, but contributed to Denver’s offensive struggles with a fumble late in the game.

The Denver Broncos will need to clean things up as they will travel to Los Angeles to face the Chargers next week. The Chargers played the Broncos close in week 1, and were a last second blocked field goal away from stealing the victory.

Quick Notes

Both Trevor Siemian and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders left the game early with injuries. Siemian will play against the Chargers and Sanders is week to week.

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